Pallets of this type are used both for transporting and for protecting parts on the internal transport path. However, it also happens that these pallets are sent over relatively large distances. The parts sent with them can have different shapes, such as for example rotary parts, shafts, valves, slides, flanges or the like. The parts are smaller than the parts customarily used in large-scale mechanical engineering, but they are larger than the parts used, for example, in precision mechanics. Their greatest dimension is in the range of 30-70 cm and their smallest dimension in the range of 5 mm upwards. Many parts used in general mechanical engineering are in this range.
Hitherto, small wooden pallets or boxes with wooden inserts have been used because wood is available anywhere, wood can absorb impacts, wood is easily machineable and because wood is inexpensive. For example, wooden boards have been provided with holes and cylindrical parts have been inserted in these holes. Shafts were mounted in such a way that V-blocks were nailed to the wooden planks which then served for mounting the shafts.
The disadvantage with these is that they are small wooden pallets for special purposes which cannot be adapted to different applications. Disposal posed difficulties since wood may only be burnt under certain circumstances. Parts located on small wooden pallets cannot be treated, e.g. washed because the wood then becomes wet.
In former times, chipboard was also used, but it did not prove to be efficient either, because aqueous media are used for cleaning. These release acid from the chipboard and then the parts rust.
Then plywood boards were used which do not have this disadvantage. However, the parts must be detached from the plywood boards for cleaning in this case too, and then reinserted in the plywood boards.
In any case, many sorts of pallets are required, which means keeping a large store.
Many of these pallets could not be stacked, and they had to be placed in a box so that the pallets did not slip over one another. If the pallets and their parts were painted, this had to be done relatively frequently in the case of the living material.